What is solarwind?

Answer 1

The solar wind is a stream of charged particles (i.e., a plasma) which are ejected from the upper atmosphere of the sun. It consists mostly of high-energy electrons and protons (about 1 keV) that are able to escape the sun's gravity in part because of the high temperature of the corona and the high kinetic energy particles gain through a process that is not well understood at this time.

Many phenomena are directly related to the solar wind, including geomagnetic storms that can knock out power grids on Earth, auroras (e.g. Northern Lights) and the plasma tail of a comet always pointing away from the sun. While early models of the solar wind used primarily thermal energy to accelerate the material, by the 1960s it was clear that thermal acceleration alone cannot account for the high speed solar wind. Some additional acceleration mechanism is required, but is not currently known, but most likely relates to magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere.

Wikipedia...

Answer 2

The solar wind is the flurry of charged particles that are constantly ejected from stars (such as the Sun). It is not light. Light is made of photons, which have no mass, and no charge. The solar wind is made of charged particles that have a mass.

Remember that particles can have a positive, negative, or zero charge. When a moving charged particle encounters a magnetic field, it experiences an sideways acceleration that causes it to move in a circular or spiral path. When a charged particle is accelerated, it tends to emit radiation in a process known as Bremsstrahlung ("braking radiation").

When the solar wind hits the Earth's magnetic field, these particles start spiraling around in the upper atmosphere. The Earth's magnetic field thus protects us from the high-energy solar wind.

In the regions where the Earth's magnetic field is strongest (near the north and south poles), the path of the solar wind particles are curved so strongly that the radiation they emit is in the visible portion of the spectrum. It is this radiation that you are seeing when you look at the Aurora Borealis (norther lights) or Aurora Australis (southern lights).

Answer 3

the solar wind is a stream of energized, charged particles, primarily electrons and protons, flowing outward from the Sun, through the solar system at speeds as high as 900 km/s and at a temperature of 1 million degrees (Celsius). It is made of plasma.

Answer 4

I think it' the radiation that is thrown into space from solar flares on the sun and probably all other stars as well.

Here's a better explanation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_wind